There is a grim ritual to the Turin derby. The tension in the air is palpable long before a ball is kicked, a thick fog of local pride and tribal rese...
There is a grim ritual to the Turin derby. The tension in the air is palpable long before a ball is kicked, a thick fog of local pride and tribal resentment. But what unfolded outside the Stadio Grande Torino on Sunday afternoon was not the roar of the crowd or the beauty of transitional football. It was the ugly, predictable sound of violence. Juventus and Torino ultras met in the streets before the match, a clash that had nothing to do with tactical shape or clinical finishing on the pitch.Pictures from GoalZaza's sources show chaos spilling across the concrete concourses. This was not a spontaneous scuffle. These were organised groups, many of them masked, who had come to settle scores rather than watch a game of football. It speaks to a deeper sickness, one where the badge on the chest becomes a license for thuggery. We have seen this before, in Milan, in Rome, across Europe. Yet it still manages to disappoint. How quickly the beautiful game becomes an excuse for the mindless.Let's be clear about what this is not. This is not passion. This is not the raw emotion of a fan who has had a few too many and let his heart rule his head. This is a premeditated act of idiocy. The clubs, the city, and the footballing authorities must look at this with a cold, hard gaze. There is no room for this nonsense in the stands or on the streets. If the ultras want to fight, they should take it to a boxing ring. The rest of us just want to watch the derby. They have bottling it, and not in the way a striker does when through on goal. They have tarnished the reputation of a great occasion.What happens next is crucial. Will the punishment be a simple fine, a slap on the wrist that these groups will laugh off Or will we see stadium bans, travel restrictions, and a genuine dismantling of these criminal elements The football authorities talk a good game about safety and security, but we need action. We need the kind of zero tolerance that makes a fan think twice before pulling on a balaclava and throwing a punch. Otherwise, Sunday is just a preview of the next ugly act waiting to happen. The only winners here are the police, who had to clean up the mess, and the tabloids, who get their headlines. For the rest of us, it is a black mark on a fixture that should be celebrated.
